Every year the world celebrates World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) on 14 June, to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood. A blood service that gives patients access to safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantity is a key component of an effective health system.
Speaking at a celebration organized by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to mark WBDD on Wednesday, Director of the Blood Transfusion Services Department, Dr. Reem Al-Radwan, said that the celebration is being held to honor all the distinguished donors and entities involved in donating and organizing blood donation campaigns over the past year.
Source- KUNA
The event, held under the auspices of the Minister of Health, Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadi and in the presence of a representative of the World Health Organization, was attended by a gathering of MoH personnel, blood donors and volunteers.
Pointing out that the Blood Transfusion Services Department collected more than 85,000 bags of blood and 7,500 bags of platelets last year, Dr. Al-Radwan added that these donations were from citizens and residents of more than 75 nationalities, with the percentage of donations by citizens being about 56 percent and that of residents around 44 percent%.
She explained that Kuwait participates on June 14 of each year in the World Health Organization’s celebrations of the World Blood Donor Day, which is held this year under the slogan, ‘Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often’. She added that the campaign focuses on patients in need of lifelong blood transfusion support, indicating the importance of the role that each individual can play by donating precious blood or plasma.
She noted that the campaign also highlights the importance of regular blood or plasma donation to ensure a safe and sustainable supply of blood and blood products around the world so that all patients in need can receive timely treatment.
Dr. Al-Radwan also noted that Kuwait’s Central Blood Bank has received international recognition from the American Blood Banks Organization since 1989 due to its achievement of the highest quality standards in blood transfusion services.
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